Fellow BIONET users:
I am doing a research project for the Faculty of Management at McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
The object of this query is to determine the causes for the high failure rates among emerging biotechnology companies in
Canada and the U.S. In particular, the focus will be limited to those companies which can not leave the "start-up phase"
and enter the growth phase. The consistent lack of economic viability among such entreprises is symptomatic of serious
shortcomings in the microenvironment in which these "one-product" entreprises operate.
Three possible causes for this trend involve the following players:
1. the entreprise itself: management / financial / marketing problems
2. the investment community: scientist ignorance / emphasis on the short term.
3. the market / customer: failure to predict the market demand and size.
The Question[s]:
What is the cause for the failure?
What is the possible solution[s] ?
Your participation is pivotal as the printed literature does not discuss the hard issues involved with entrepreneurship in the
biotech area.
I am looking for opinions, comments on the above issues. Let me know your particular situation and what environment you
were in. What type of player were you, [1], [2] or [3] as defined above?.
I am eager to see more opportunities for entreprising biologists.
George Mahmourides
E-Mail: mahmourg at mgmtstd1.lan.mcgill.ca